It appears that Frankie Kazarian wasn't too thrilled about AJ Styles' return.
For the first time in 12 years, the current WWE star stepped into a TNA ring and endorsed the new X-Division Champion, Leon Slater. While Styles’ return to TNA Wrestling was met with overwhelming praise, there’s only one man who isn't happy about him coming back.
"I'll never downplay what AJ did for this place. I was there for it all. I saw him work harder than anybody here," Kazarian said on Busted Open Radio. "Yes, he's incredibly talented, one of the best ever to do it, top five in my book. I'll never downplay his contributions, again, because I saw it, I lived it. I saw what he had to go through, and it's universally accepted that he is the face that built this place.
However, he's gone. He's not here. I still am, and I am carrying that torch. Besides myself and Eric Young, there's no other guys that have been here since day one. So in a way, I feel like if we're going to celebrate AJ like that, but the guy that's still here carrying this place is just going to be pushed aside, I'm not cool with that."
Could this be the beginning of an angle?
Styles has said that he’s open to working a match in TNA and specifically named Frankie Kazarian as the guy who would want to face.
“I love [the WWE and TNA partnership]. I still have a couple of friends there, and I would love to have the opportunity to go back and wrestle at least one more match in TNA,” AJ Styles said during the Fanatics panel at WrestleMania 41 weekend.
Styles then goes on to name the TNA wrestler he would like to fight.
“Frankie Kazarian. 100 percent,”
The former WWE Champion doesn’t give a reason why he chose Kazarian, though it’s likely due to the history those two men share. Now there’s no word on whether Styles' return was just a one off. Several reports claimed that Styles was supposed to confront Mr. Kazarian during a segment, but that idea was ultimately scrapped. It wouldn’t be crazy to assume that these two could be heading for a match soon, especially with Bound Form Glory around the corner. However, as of this writing, it hasn’t been confirmed that Styles intends to return back to TNA Wrestling.